LIVE: Hants v Lancs - Day Two

Oliver Newby says Lancashire’s young guns are really starting to prove their worth, so much so that they are in the hunt to force an impressive County Championship win against Hampshire at the Rose Bowl. The 24-year-old pace ace bowled his side back into the game with a season’s best 4-105 from 30 overs.

Oliver Newby says Lancashire’s young guns are really starting to prove their worth, so much so that they are in the hunt to force an impressive County Championship win against Hampshire at the Rose Bowl.

The 24-year-old pace ace bowled his side back into the game with a season’s best 4-105 from 30 overs, restricting the hosts to a first innings score of 337 after they had started day two well placed at 144-2 on a good pitch.

Lancashire were still on the back foot after Hampshire were bowled out but Tom Smith hit an unbeaten 44 off 88 balls, also a season’s best, to help the visitors reach 106-1 in their reply at stumps.

They are now thinking of a win, revealed Newby.

“I think if we can bat past them - hopefully Gary Keedy and Stephen Parry can then find some turn - we have a good chance of getting maximum points,” he said.

While Newby was the star yesterday, claiming three wickets in his first three overs, Hogg completed impressive figures of 4-74 from 29.2 overs to ensure his best haul of wickets in a Championship season.

Difficult

Smith and Keedy also added their names into the wickets column.

To effectively restrict Hampshire to 193-8 yesterday was a sterling effort from Lancs, especially since they are without injured duo Sajid Mahmood and Glen Chapple.

Newby continued: “We knew it was always going to be difficult without Saj or Chappie, coming in with three seamers and two spinners, but we have all been around long enough to know what to do.

“We knew that me, Hoggy and Tom would have to bowl some overs, and we kept them at bay. I think a lot of people are standing up now.

"Opportunities have started to appear for the young guys this year and last – obviously more so in the seam department this year.

“We had a talk and we knew that if we could get them out for 350 less we would be in the game. We managed to do that. They were 140-2, so we were really happy.”

Cracked

Newby had James Vince and Liam Dawson caught behind by Luke Sutton before Jimmy Adams (107) was trapped lbw to reduce the hosts to 194-5 in the 64th over. They had been 183-2 just four overs earlier.

And Hogg, Newby, Keedy and Smith then all struck in the afternoon session to reduce the score to 287-9 after it had been 263-5.

It could have been better for Lancs too, but former Zimbabwe all-rounder Sean Ervine was in the midst of a Hampshire best 114 off 144 balls. He and James Tomlinson shared 50 for the last wicket.

Left-handed Ervine even cracked two huge sixes off Newby and Keedy, the second being a reverse swept maximum out of the ground.

“We nearly wrapped it up quickly, but Ervine batted well,” continued Newby. “We knew it was a good pitch to bat on, and we fought hard.

"It is one of those pitches that you have to plug away on, sit in, and somewhere along the line something will happen.”

Paul Horton was the only Lancashire wicket to fall, caught at square leg by Imran Tahir off the bowling of David Griffiths for 34. Mal Loye reached 19 at close. He and Smith resume today 231 runs behind